For the past nearly 12 years I’ve been working out regularly. It started in earnest at the YMCA several months after my late brother’s sudden death. I’d ballooned in weight from the grief and stress following his death.

I worked with a trainer early on, then moved into working by myself. For a brief period of time, I added running into my regimen, and even returned to playing ice hockey for the first time since my childhood.

In fact, along with my job and family, and, yes, pro wrestling, the gym has been a constant in my life.

It’s also no secret that I love to eat. I mean, in fairness, working out and eating kind of go hand in hand.

In those dozen or so years, I’ve seen my weight shoot way up, go way down, come back up and settle into a roughly 25-pound window, where I currently reside.

Since January, I’ve been working with my trainer, Farr Ramsahoye of Visionary Fitness at 247 Fitness. In that time, Farr has been helping me overcome a ton of nagging injuries, some accumulated by my poor form while working out alone, some from trying my hand at running (ill advised when you’re upward of 300 pounds at times), others still picked up along the 42-year journey that is life, while some are the result of my dormant lifestyle.

I’m not sure there is a worse thing for someone’s health and fitness than sitting at a desk for nine to 10 hours a day. Methinks it might be as unhealthy as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. (I also did that for about 13 years of my life, but am now almost 13 years smoke-free.)

The trouble I’m finding at age 42, which to this point I have never faced, is that it is getting tougher and tougher to win the fitness and eating battle. As I excel at one, I struggle with the other, and vice versa.

I can proudly say that my fitness has greatly improved under Farr’s tutelage. We have dramatically improved my mobility and strength. I have abs where I never had abs, my legs are stronger than they’ve ever been in my life, and my body has changed dramatically.

My eating habits, however, continue to be like candied corn at Halloween … leaving a lot to be desired.

But I’m intent on fixing that for good, thanks to an assist from Kingston-based nutritionist Trish Krause.

Trish is a holistic nutritionist, certified through the Institute of Holistic Nutrition (IHN) and registered through the International Organization of Nutritional Consultants (IONC) — a global organization that educates the public and health professionals on the benefits of an individualized, nutrition-based approach to caring for and healing the body.

Trish also owns Bite out of Life Wellness, and after we met over coffee to discuss my journey, I knew she was the right person to help me take things to the next level.

Trish sent me some initial forms to fill out and some online links to a survey that would reveal much about my eating habits, health and wellness. There is an entire other column about that that will need to be written soon.

Then Trish did the most awesome thing ever, she came to our house, armed with a customized eating plan, complete with amazing recipes, bags of stuff to help me get started and all of her amazing insights and knowledge. That morning, we prepared a whole series of recipes that would give me an idea of how easy it could be, and how nutritious things could be if you got creative.

That morning, we made a chocolate protein shake, which contained frozen cauliflower, bananas, macha powder, almond butter, chocolate protein powder, almond milk and cacao powder. It was by far the most yummy sample we made that day, and one that I have incorporated into my training-day eating.

Trish also spent time with me explaining the health benefits of each ingredient, what time of day I should be eating certain foods, and why I should be eating it then. I was introduced to baked chick peas, with some delicious spices, which I now enjoy as a regular treat. Who knew? The only other time I’ve enjoyed chick peas was when I hid them in a cookie recipe.

Trish even convinced me to try a homemade tomato sauce. If you know me at all, you’ll know the No. 1 enemy on my food list is tomatoes. Just the fruit itself. I love ketchup, tomato soup and store-bought pasta sauce. Tomatoes themselves, and tomato juice, however, are a great way to become unfriended by me. But I opened my mind and we made some actual tomato sauce from scratch. Full disclosure, I didn’t hate it. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I didn’t hate it. That’s HUGE, if you knew me at all.

We also made some yummy kale and mushroom egg muffins that I instantly fell in love with. They make a great quick snack and are good either cold or warmed.

No lies, I have a small book of recipes that were tailored to my likes, needs and to help me kick my addiction to fatty and useless foods.

Trish also showed me how to make salad that you can prep for days without it going soggy! I kid you not.

The food was great, the company awesome and the entire experience eye-opening. Listening to Trish explain why certain foods were important and what their functions were was fascinating. And most impressive was how everything we prepped involved very little prep time, could be prepared in bulk for eating all week, and was impressively tasty for foods I’ve mostly associated with icky-tasting dishes.

I’ve also made some green smoothie muffins, overnight oats, and this weekend plan to make some black bean brownies.

Beginning in the new year, Farr and I will be increasing our training, the intensity of it and really pushing hard. Working with Trish will be a huge part of that. I’ll share more of my experiences with Trish in my coming columns. In the meantime, she can be reached at trish@bite-out-of-life.com or by phone at 343-333-3483.

Jan Murphy is the news and features editor at the Whig-Standard and a new fan of chick peas.